Lemon Blueberry Sweet Rolls
These Lemon Blueberry Sweet Rolls are so soft, full and fluffy that you will think they've come from a high end bakery. They have the most incredible tender and airy crumb texture with juicy blueberry filling in every bite, then topped with a tangy blueberry glaze.
Ingredients
Blueberry Filling:
- 2 ½ cups (320g) frozen blueberries
- 6 tablespoon (80g) granulated sugar
- 1 ½ tablespoon (22ml) lemon juice
- 1 ½ tablespoon (12g) corn starch
- 1 tablespoon (15ml) water
Lemon Sweet Roll Dough:
- ⅓ cup (65g) granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest
- 4 cups (568g) unbleached bread flour, plus more as needed for rolling and shaping
- 3 teaspoon (11g) instant quick-rise dry yeast
- 1 ¼ teaspoon (10g) fine table salt*
- 1 large egg at room temperature
- 2 tablespoon (24g) liquid oil such as vegetable, canola, sunflower or olive oil
- 2 tablespoon (28g) salted butter, softened
- 1 ¼ cups (300ml) milk (whole milk or 2% preferred)
- more water as necessary for the dough if baking in drier months
Lemon Blueberry Icing:
- 1 cup (120g) powdered sugar
- 2 tablespoon (30ml) full fat plain yogurt
- 1 tablespoon (15ml) reserved blueberry sauce
- ¼ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- fresh lemon zest for topping
*you can also use Kosher salt but then be sure to measure 10g by weight as it is lighter (has a lower density) than table salt. You will need around 2 teaspoons of Kosher salt.
Instructions
- Make the blueberry filling. Combine blueberries, granulated sugar and lemon juice together in a small saucepan or saucier over medium heat. Cook for 5-8 minutes stirring often until the berries are thawed and they release their vibrant juices.
- Mix in corn starch slurry. Mix water with cornstarch in a very small bowl. Once the berries have broken down a bit and are simmering, add the cornstarch mixture and stir it in.
- Cook until thick. Continue to cook and stir until it begins to bubble and thicken. Once bubbling, cook for 15 seconds.
- Cool. Immediately pour the filling into a clean bowl and let cool completely at room temperature, then refrigerate for 1 hour until thoroughly chilled and set before using. Cover and store for up to 1 week in the refrigerator.
- Make the dough. Combine sugar and lemon zest in a medium bowl and rub it together until fragrant and pale yellow in color so the essential oils coat the sugar crystals. Place flour in the bowl of a stand mixer. Add in lemon sugar, yeast and salt in little piles in separate places over the flour in the bowl so that they are not touching. See my video above the recipe card. The point is that you do not want the salt in direct contact with the yeast for a prolonged period of time without mixing or it can inhibit its activity.
- Add in the egg, oil, milk and soft butter. Attach the dough hook and mix on medium-low for 10-15 minutes. Stop after a 2 minutes to scrape down the sides of the bowl and ensure all of the flour is incorporated and the dough is a uniform mixture. It will still be wet and rather loose at this point. Continue mixing for another 2-3 minutes. The dough should start to climb up the dough hook and will still be webbing around the bottom of the bowl. (Note: if the dough seems rather dry and stiff at this point, add water at 10ml increments until you reach a softer consistency as described). Stop the mixer and scrape around the inside of the bowl to release the dough. Continue mixing for another 3 minutes. Stop again, pull the dough off of the hook and scrape around the inside of the bowl to release the dough again. Continue mixing for another 3-5 minutes. At this point the dough should start forming a mass and come away from the bowl as it is mixing. You can check the temperature of the dough now if you have a digital thermometer - it should be between 24-26 degrees (75-79 degrees F) for optimal activity.
- Transfer the dough to a lightly floured work surface. Now you will stretch and fold the dough to help develop the gluten structure so the rolls will be soft and fluffy. Using both hands, grab both sides of the dough, pull it outwards (this is the "stretch"), then fold it inwards over itself. Rotate the dough and continue to stretch and fold until the dough feels very smooth. Watch my video for a full tutorial. Shape the dough into a ball by tucking the sides underneath and rolling it around the counter The surface of the dough ball should pull smoothly without tearing.
- Let the dough rise. Place the ball into a bowl and then rub a little bit of oil lightly over the surface with your hands to prevent it from drying out. Cover the bowl with plastic and then cover with a kitchen towel. Set it aside in a warm dark place and let it rise for 1-2 hours until nearly tripled in size. Note that the amount of time required will depend on the temperature of your kitchen. After it has risen, place it in the fridge for 15 minutes to let it firm up slightly so it is easier to roll. Note, if you are making these in a very cool climate, then this step isn't necessary.
- While the dough is rising, prepare the pan. Lightly grease the sides of a 13x9-inch metal baking pan with cooking spray or soft butter and line the base with parchment paper.
- When the dough is finished rising, place it in the fridge for 20 minutes. This will help you roll it and keep it firm since the filling is wet and it will make rolling and slicing much easier. Trust me!
- Roll out the dough. Lightly flour a work surface to cover a large area. Carefully invert the bowl and tip the dough out onto the surface. Let the dough gently release from the bowl and plop onto the counter. Do not knead it any more at this point. Gently pull on the dough and stretch it out into a rectangle shape, then use a rolling pin to roll it out to a 13x16 inch rectangle. Gently apply the filling, spreading it out leaving about ½-inch border using a large offset spatula. Now you can either roll it up into a log and slice the log into 12 portions, or slice the rolled dough into 12 long strips (just over an inch thick) and then roll up each individual strip into a scroll. NOTE: This is messy! Don’t be scared and embrace the mess. As you roll and slice the blueberry filling will squeeze out a bit and the dough will feel soft, but just gently lift them up and place them into the pan as neatly as you can. Don’t worry about them looking perfect because when they bake, they will fill out and be beautiful. I recommend using floss to slice them since a knife will squish the soft dough with the wet filling.
- Place each roll spiral-side-up into the prepared pan so they fit nicely next to each other. Cover the pan loosely with plastic and proof for 30 minutes to 1 hour. Note: this proof time highly depends on the temperature of your dough and temperature of your room. The rolls are ready for baking when you press on the side gently with your finger tip and it slowly springs back, leaving just the slightest imprint. If your fingerprint remains and leaves a deep imprint, then the dough is over-proofed.
- While the rolls are rising, preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Bake for 23-27 minutes until evenly golden and the center roll is cooked through. The internal temperature should be between 92 and 94°C (198-201 degrees F).
- Transfer pan to a wire rack and let rolls cool for at least 20 minutes.
- Meanwhile make the icing. Combine powdered sugar, yogurt, reserved blueberry sauce, vanilla and salt in a medium bowl and mix well with a whisk until very smooth. Drizzle it over each roll and dig in!
